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Electronically Filed
5/12/2023 9:55 AM
Hidalgo County District Clerks
Reviewed By: Alan Garcia
CAUSE NO. C-4179-22-B
DULCE M. HERNANDEZ, THOMAS F. § IN THE DISTRICT COURT
PHILLIPS AND MYRA PHILLIPS, §
Plaintiffs §
§
V. § 93RD JUDICIAL DISTRCIT
§
THE ATTIC CORPORATION, §
DARREL W. JOHNSON, §
RONALD L SHIMOTSU PLLC, AND §
RONALD L. SHIMOTSU, §
Defendants § HIDALGO COUNTY, TEXAS
AGREED CONFIDENTIALITY AND PROTECTIVE ORDER
The Parties to the litigation recognize that discovery herein may involve confidential and
sensitive personal, medical, business, financial, and/or proprietary information considered
by one or more Parties to be confidential and, therefore, certain documents and information
should be produced and/or disclosed only subject to a protective order. Thus, the Court
hereby enters this Agreed Confidentiality and Protective Order (the "Protective Order") as
follows:
1. All "'Protected Information" as defined below shall be used solely and
exclusively for the preparation and conduct of this lawsuit and shall not, unless directed by an
appropriate court, be used, made available, disclosed, or disseminated in any manner for any other
purpose. Any person or entity receiving Protected Information shall hold it in confidence and not
divulge it to any person or entity not authorized to receive the information under this Protective
Order unless otherwise directed by an appropriate court. Under no circumstances shall any person
or entity receiving Protected Information sell, offer for sale, advertise, or publicize the Protected
Information. A copy of this Protective Order shall be attached to any discovery request made
by a Party to any third-party.
2. Definitions:
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Hidalgo County District Clerks
Reviewed By: Alan Garcia
a. "Document" shall mean any information in written, electronic, magnetic,
digital, or recorded form and includes information commonly considered
ESI or electronically stored information.
b. "Party'' or "Parties" means Plaintiffs and Defendants in this lawsuit.
c. “Party" means the Party producing Protected Information in this litigation.
d. “Protected Information'' means all non-public information that a Party
reasonably believes in good faith to be confidential, classified, proprietary,
sensitive, or private, including but not limited to:
i. information that qualities as a "trade secret'" under the Texas
Uniform Trade Secret Act, or
11. sensitive financial, medical, or personally identifying information,
such as account statements, tax returns, tax identification numbers,
social security numbers, or medical records that is not publicly
known and is subject to reasonable efforts to maintain the
confidential nature of the information.
e. ''Receiving Party" means the Party(s) receiving Protected Information in
this litigation.
3. Only documents containing Protected Information may be designated
"Confidential". The producing party will make such a designation only as to those documents
or discovery responses that are in good faith believed to contain or constitute Protected
Information.
4. A document may be designated ''Confidential'' if it, in the good faith estimation of
counsel for the Producing Party, contains Protected Information. Protected Information may not
be publicly disseminated or disclosed by the Receiving Party and may be disclosed only to
(a) the Parties and officers or employees of the Parties to whom it is necessary that the Protected
Information be disclosed for purposes of this litigation, (b) counsel acting on behalf of the
Receiving Party who has made any appearance in this lawsuit and any attorneys, paralegals, or
other employees employed in the same law firm as said counsel, (c) any retained experts,
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consultants, or agents of said counsel who agree to be bound by this Protective Order and have
signed the Certificate of Acknowledgement attached to this Protective Order as Exhibit A, (d) any
authors or recipients of the Confidential Protected Information; (e) stenographers and/or
videographers transcribing or otherwise documenting testimony or argument at a deposition,
hearing, or trial; (t) the Court, Court personnel, and court reporters; (g) independent third-party
litigation support vendors providing graphics, design, photocopy, document imaging, document
processing, translation, or database services to counsel for any Party; (h) mediators engaged by
the Parties to assist in this litigation; (i) deposition witnesses who agree to be bound by this
Protective Order and have signed the Certificate of Acknowledgement attached to this Protective
Order as Exhibit A; and (i) such other person as this Court may designate after notice and an
opportunity to be heard.
5. Except for Protected Information provided to the Court, court personnel, and
court reporters, counsel for each Party providing Protected Information to any person pursuant to
this Protective Order shall give a copy of this Protective Order to all such persons to whom
Protected Information is disclosed, and each person is hereby bound by this Protective Order and
enjoined from disclosing such Protected Information to any other person or using such Protected
Information outside the terms of this Protective Order.
6. Any qualifying documents shall be designated as Confidential by stamping
the legend "Confidential'' on each page of such qualifying documents as to which the
designation is claimed. At the Producing Party's option, the Producing Party may designate a
document consisting of more than five (5) pages as “Confidential" by affixing a cover page
to the document which cover page bears the appropriate stamp designation and lists the
identification number (by Bates number) of each page of the set intended to be so designated.
7. All parties recognize that native format documents cannot be so marked, and thus,
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to the extent that native format documents are produced, the Producing Party will make
reasonable provision for marking native format documents, in the file name, on the disk on
which the native format documents are produced, or in any other reasonable way in connection
with the transmission or retention of such documents on office systems.
8. All copies of documents designated as "Confidential'· shall again be stamped or
otherwise labeled "Confidential” if the duplicating process by which copies of such documents
are made does not reproduce the original stamp.
10. Any deposition transcripts or any portion thereof, including exhibits. may also be
designated as Confidential by:
a. stating orally on the record of a deposition that certain exhibits or aspects
of testimony are Confidential; and/or
b. sending written notice no later than within thirty (30) days of receipt of the
transcript or the deposition, through designations by page and line, of
those portions of the transcript and/or the exhibits that the Party designates
as Confidential.
11. Until the thirty-day period for designation of deposition testimony as
Confidential has expired, the deposition transcript shall be treated as Confidential.
12. All Protected Information produced or exchanged during the Litigation (not
including information that is publicly available) shall be used by the Party or Parties to whom
the information is produced solely for the purpose of the Litigation.
13. A Receiving Party may use any document produced under this Protective Order
in any deposition of any Party or Party-representative and in any trial or hearing in the Litigation
without limitation. Nothing in this Protective Order shall limit or restrict Counsel from
providing legal and strategic advice to a client. Any Confidential document used in a
deposition shall retain its protections, and any testimony revealing the substance of the
document shall likewise carry the same designation as the document.
14. Any Party desiring to file Protected Information, or a document that quotes from
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or substantially reveals the contents of Protected Information (collectively "Sealable Protected
Information"), with the Court shall file said Sealable Protected Information under seal according
to the rules of this court for the filing of documents under seal. A Party seeking to file Sealable
Protected Information must also file a motion to seal, pursuant to Texas Rule of Civil Procedure
76a. A Party seeking to file Sealable Protected Information at the same time it files a motion to
seal such information under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 76a must file only a redacted copy of
the Sealable Protected Information for the public file. An unredacted copy of the filing must be
served contemporaneously on each Party and the Court in addition to a redacted public filing.
15. When filing a motion to seal under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 76a, it shall be
sufficient for the filing Party to state in a temporary motion to seal that subject matter of the
filing includes Protected Information that was marked as Confidential pursuant to the terms of
this Protective Order. However, upon the filing of a temporary motion to seal, the Producing
Party bears the burden of proving that the materials are properly subject to permanent sealing
prior to the hearing on the motion. In the event the Court denies a motion to permanently seal
a record, then the Party that originally filed the redacted document shall file an unredacted
version of the document that, in a footnote on the first page, refers back to both the redacted
filing and the Court's order denying sealing. Any such unredacted filing shall relate back to
the original date of the redacted filing and no new deadlines will be triggered by such filing.
16. The existence of this Protective Order, the filing of the documents under seal, or
the designation of the documents as Confidential shall not serve as a concession or evidence
that any particular document or information is or is not Protected Information, privileged,
qualified for protection under applicable law, or admissible at a hearing or trial.
17. Nothing in this Protective Order precludes a party from seeking relief from the
Court with regards to the production of documents or information. Further, nothing in this
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Protective Order shall be construed as an agreement or acknowledgement by any non-producing
party that any document, testimony, or other information designated as Confidential constitutes
a trade secret or is in fact confidential.
18. Once approved and signed by the Parties' counsel, the Parties are to be bound by
the provisions of this Protective Order as a valid agreement under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure
11, until such time as the Protective Order is signed and entered by the Court. Once signed and
entered, the Parties shall be bound by the provisions of this Protective Order as an order of this
Court, which may be modified or amended only by a subsequent Court order. In the event that
a Party discovers it inadvertently has produced Protected Information that has not been
designated as such in advance of production or disclosure or otherwise determines
previously produced or disclosed documents or information should be treated as Protected
Information, the Party may designate the documents or information as Protected
Information by subsequent notice to all Parties in writing. No person or Party shall incur any
liability or sanction with respect to any disclosure or dissemination of such documents or
information occurring prior to receipt of written notice of a belated designation.
19. In the event that a Party discovers it inadvertently received Protected Information
that has not been designated as such in advance of production or disclosure, or if such Party
otherwise determines previously produced or disclosed documents or information should be
treated as Protected Information, nothing herein shall limit the Party's obligation to timely
inform the Producing Party.
20. If any Party objects to the designation of any document as Confidential, the Party
shall state the objection by letter to counsel for the Party making the designation and shall
identify by bates number each document and/or page to which the Party objects. If the Parties
are then unable to resolve the objection, the Party seeking to maintain the designation shall have
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fourteen (14) days from receipt of such written notice within which to move the Court for a
judicial determination of whether the materials were properly designated as Confidential.
Until the Court rules on any such motion, the document(s) shall continue to be deemed
Confidential under the terms of this Protective Order. If the Party does not move the Court for
a judicial determination within fourteen (14) days from receipt of such written notice, the
document(s) shall no longer be designated as Confidential.
21. Notwithstanding any challenge to the designation of material as Confidential, all
documents shall be treated as such and shall be subject to the provisions hereof unless and until
one of the following occurs:
a. The Party or non-party who claims that the material is withdraws such
designation in writing; or
b. The Court rules the material is not Confidential.
22. This Protective Order shall not apply to any document or information that is
available publicly, is a matter of public record on file with any court or governmental or
regulatory agency or board, or is or becomes available by any lawful and unrestricted means.
The burden of proving that the document or information was obtained from outside the
discovery process in this litigation shall be upon the Party receiving the information from the
alleged outside source.
23. Any witness or other person, firm, or entity from which discovery is sought shall be
considered a Producing Party entitled to protection under the terms of the Protective Order.
24. If, at any time, any Receiving Party receives a subpoena or other compulsory
process commanding production of Protected Information, the Party to whom the subpoena or
request is directed shall, except where prohibited by law, reasonably provide prompt written
notice to the Producing Party within three (3) business days of receipt of such subpoena. It is the intent
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of this paragraph to allow at least ten (10) days, where possible, for the Producing Party to take
protective action regarding the subpoenaed documents before the Protected Information is produced.
The Party to whom the subpoena or request is directed shall not take any position concerning the
propriety of such subpoena or request or the discoverability of the information sought thereby. It
shall be the obligation of the Producing Party, if it chooses, to file a motion for protection or
otherwise oppose or respond to such a subpoena or request. Other than the obligation to comply
with the requirements stated herein, this Protective Order does not affect a Party's obligation to
respond to such a subpoena or request. Any retained expert who has agreed to be bound by this
Protective Order and has signed the Certificate of Acknowledgement attached to this Protective
Order as Exhibit A, when testifying in another, unrelated case, shall advise the Court for the case
in which he or she is testifying of the existence of this Protective Order before responding to any
questions regarding Confidential Information and, only if ordered by such Court to respond, may
respond to questions regarding Confidential Information without being in violation of this Order.
25. This Court retains and shall have continuing jurisdiction over the Parties and
recipients of the Protected Information for enforcement of the provisions of this Protective
Order following the termination of this litigation.
26. After dismissal of this lawsuit or entry of final judgment not subject to further appeal
in this litigation, all discovery materials produced must be either destroyed or if maintained on an
electronic server the contents of such documents must remain confidential consistent with this Order.
Any Party to this Order has the right to request an affidavit by the Party receiving Confidential
Information that the discovery materials produced have been destroyed or continue to be maintained
as confidential consistent with this Order. Failure to provide the affidavit shall be deemed as a
violation of the Court's order by the Receiving Party, if after receiving notice from the Producing
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Party and fourteen (14) days to cure, the Receiving Party still does not provide the affidavit.
The attorneys signing this Protective Order have the authority to bind their respective clients
to this Protective Order and do so by their signatures.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
12
Signed this ___ MAY, 2023
day of ___________ XXX
______, 2022
_______________________________
PRESIDING JUDGE
AGREED:
/s/ Roel Gutierrez (signed with permission)
ROEL GUTIERREZ
State Bar. No. 24069842
Law Office of Roel Gutierrez, PLLC.
4415 N. McColl Rd
McAllen, Texas 78504
Phone (956) 278-3529
Fax (956) 278-3530
Email: roelgutierrezlaw@gmail.com
AND
JORGE SALINAS
State Bar. No. 24090368
Law Office of Jorge Salinas, PLLC.
4415 N. McColl Rd
McAllen, Texas 78504
Phone (956) 278-3529
Fax (956) 278-3530
Email: attorney@jorgsalinaslaw.com
Attorneys for Plaintiffs Dulce M. Hernandez,
Thomas F. Phillips, and Myra Phillips
THOMPSON, COE, COUSINS & IRONS,
L.L.P.
By: /s/ Craig L. Dowis
Craig L. Dowis
State Bar No. 24028655
C-4179-22-B
Agreed Protective Order
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cdowis@thompsoncoe.com
Robert F. Boone
State Bar No. 24121917
rboone@thompsoncoe.com
700 N. Pearl Street, 25th Floor
Dallas, Texas 75201
Telephone: (214) 871-8200
Facsimile: (214) 871-8209
ATTORNEY FOR DEFENDANTS
RONALD L. SHIMOTSU, PLLC AND
RONALD L. SHIMOTSU
FOX ROTHSCHILD LLP
By:/s/ Robert J. Palmer (signed with permission)
Robert J. Palmer
State Bar No. 24013286
Saint Ann Court
2501 N. Harwood Street, Suite 1800
Dallas, Texas 75201
Tel: (972) 991-0889
Fax: (972) 404-0516
Email: rpalmer@foxrothschild.com
WALSH MCGURK CORDOVA NIXON, PLLC
Michael A. McGurk
State Bar No. 00797746
E-mail: mmcgurk@wmcnlaw.com
1506 S. Lone Star Way, Suite 10
Edinburgh, Texas 78539
Telephone: (956) 632-5030
Telecopier: (956) 630-5050
ATTORNEYS FOR DEFENDANTS THE
ATTIC CORPORATION AND DARRELL W.
JOHNSON
C-4179-22-B
Agreed Protective Order
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Automated Certificate of eService
This automated certificate of service was created by the efiling system.
The filer served this document via email generated by the efiling system
on the date and to the persons listed below. The rules governing
certificates of service have not changed. Filers must still provide a
certificate of service that complies with all applicable rules.
Dana Ward on behalf of Craig Dowis
Bar No. 24028655
dward@thompsoncoe.com
Envelope ID: 75583648
Filing Code Description: Proposed Order
Filing Description: AGREED CONFIDENTIALITY AND PROTECTIVE
ORDER
Status as of 5/12/2023 11:30 AM CST
Associated Case Party: RONALD L. SHIMOTSU PLLC
Name BarNumber Email TimestampSubmitted Status
Craig Dowis cdowis@thompsoncoe.com 5/12/2023 11:26:56 AM SENT
Dana Ward dward@thompsoncoe.com 5/12/2023 11:26:56 AM SENT
Vivian Demianiw vdemianiw@thompsoncoe.com 5/12/2023 11:26:56 AM SENT
Robert Boone rboone@thompsoncoe.com 5/12/2023 11:26:56 AM SENT
Thompson Coe File Clerk ezfile@thompsoncoe.com 5/12/2023 11:26:56 AM SENT
Associated Case Party: THE ATTIC CORPORATION
Name BarNumber Email TimestampSubmitted Status
Robert J.Palmer rpalmer@foxrothschild.com 5/12/2023 11:26:56 AM SENT
Jamie-Lee Denton JDenton@foxrothschild.com 5/12/2023 11:26:56 AM SENT
Case Contacts
Name BarNumber Email TimestampSubmitted Status
Jorge Salinas 24090368 attorney@jorgesalinaslaw.com 5/12/2023 11:26:56 AM SENT
Michael Albert McGurk 797746 mmcgurk@wmcnlaw.com 5/12/2023 11:26:56 AM SENT
ROEL GUTIERREZ roelgutierrezlaw@gmail.com 5/12/2023 11:26:56 AM SENT
ROBERT JPALMER RPALMER@FOXROTHSCHILD.COM 5/12/2023 11:26:56 AM SENT
Felicia Robinson frobinson@foxrothschild.com 5/12/2023 11:26:56 AM SENT
Preview
Electronically Filed 5/12/2023 9:55 AM Hidalgo County District Clerks Reviewed By: Alan Garcia CAUSE NO. C-4179-22-B DULCE M. HERNANDEZ, THOMAS F. § IN THE DISTRICT COURT PHILLIPS AND MYRA PHILLIPS, § Plaintiffs § § V. § 93RD JUDICIAL DISTRCIT § THE ATTIC CORPORATION, § DARREL W. JOHNSON, § RONALD L SHIMOTSU PLLC, AND § RONALD L. SHIMOTSU, § Defendants § HIDALGO COUNTY, TEXAS AGREED CONFIDENTIALITY AND PROTECTIVE ORDER The Parties to the litigation recognize that discovery herein may involve confidential and sensitive personal, medical, business, financial, and/or proprietary information considered by one or more Parties to be confidential and, therefore, certain documents and information should be produced and/or disclosed only subject to a protective order. Thus, the Court hereby enters this Agreed Confidentiality and Protective Order (the "Protective Order") as follows: 1. All "'Protected Information" as defined below shall be used solely and exclusively for the preparation and conduct of this lawsuit and shall not, unless directed by an appropriate court, be used, made available, disclosed, or disseminated in any manner for any other purpose. Any person or entity receiving Protected Information shall hold it in confidence and not divulge it to any person or entity not authorized to receive the information under this Protective Order unless otherwise directed by an appropriate court. Under no circumstances shall any person or entity receiving Protected Information sell, offer for sale, advertise, or publicize the Protected Information. A copy of this Protective Order shall be attached to any discovery request made by a Party to any third-party. 2. Definitions: Electronically Filed 5/12/2023 9:55 AM Hidalgo County District Clerks Reviewed By: Alan Garcia a. "Document" shall mean any information in written, electronic, magnetic, digital, or recorded form and includes information commonly considered ESI or electronically stored information. b. "Party'' or "Parties" means Plaintiffs and Defendants in this lawsuit. c. “Party" means the Party producing Protected Information in this litigation. d. “Protected Information'' means all non-public information that a Party reasonably believes in good faith to be confidential, classified, proprietary, sensitive, or private, including but not limited to: i. information that qualities as a "trade secret'" under the Texas Uniform Trade Secret Act, or 11. sensitive financial, medical, or personally identifying information, such as account statements, tax returns, tax identification numbers, social security numbers, or medical records that is not publicly known and is subject to reasonable efforts to maintain the confidential nature of the information. e. ''Receiving Party" means the Party(s) receiving Protected Information in this litigation. 3. Only documents containing Protected Information may be designated "Confidential". The producing party will make such a designation only as to those documents or discovery responses that are in good faith believed to contain or constitute Protected Information. 4. A document may be designated ''Confidential'' if it, in the good faith estimation of counsel for the Producing Party, contains Protected Information. Protected Information may not be publicly disseminated or disclosed by the Receiving Party and may be disclosed only to (a) the Parties and officers or employees of the Parties to whom it is necessary that the Protected Information be disclosed for purposes of this litigation, (b) counsel acting on behalf of the Receiving Party who has made any appearance in this lawsuit and any attorneys, paralegals, or other employees employed in the same law firm as said counsel, (c) any retained experts, C-4179-22-B Agreed Protective Order Page 2 of 12 Electronically Filed 5/12/2023 9:55 AM Hidalgo County District Clerks Reviewed By: Alan Garcia consultants, or agents of said counsel who agree to be bound by this Protective Order and have signed the Certificate of Acknowledgement attached to this Protective Order as Exhibit A, (d) any authors or recipients of the Confidential Protected Information; (e) stenographers and/or videographers transcribing or otherwise documenting testimony or argument at a deposition, hearing, or trial; (t) the Court, Court personnel, and court reporters; (g) independent third-party litigation support vendors providing graphics, design, photocopy, document imaging, document processing, translation, or database services to counsel for any Party; (h) mediators engaged by the Parties to assist in this litigation; (i) deposition witnesses who agree to be bound by this Protective Order and have signed the Certificate of Acknowledgement attached to this Protective Order as Exhibit A; and (i) such other person as this Court may designate after notice and an opportunity to be heard. 5. Except for Protected Information provided to the Court, court personnel, and court reporters, counsel for each Party providing Protected Information to any person pursuant to this Protective Order shall give a copy of this Protective Order to all such persons to whom Protected Information is disclosed, and each person is hereby bound by this Protective Order and enjoined from disclosing such Protected Information to any other person or using such Protected Information outside the terms of this Protective Order. 6. Any qualifying documents shall be designated as Confidential by stamping the legend "Confidential'' on each page of such qualifying documents as to which the designation is claimed. At the Producing Party's option, the Producing Party may designate a document consisting of more than five (5) pages as “Confidential" by affixing a cover page to the document which cover page bears the appropriate stamp designation and lists the identification number (by Bates number) of each page of the set intended to be so designated. 7. All parties recognize that native format documents cannot be so marked, and thus, C-4179-22-B Agreed Protective Order Page 3 of 12 Electronically Filed 5/12/2023 9:55 AM Hidalgo County District Clerks Reviewed By: Alan Garcia to the extent that native format documents are produced, the Producing Party will make reasonable provision for marking native format documents, in the file name, on the disk on which the native format documents are produced, or in any other reasonable way in connection with the transmission or retention of such documents on office systems. 8. All copies of documents designated as "Confidential'· shall again be stamped or otherwise labeled "Confidential” if the duplicating process by which copies of such documents are made does not reproduce the original stamp. 10. Any deposition transcripts or any portion thereof, including exhibits. may also be designated as Confidential by: a. stating orally on the record of a deposition that certain exhibits or aspects of testimony are Confidential; and/or b. sending written notice no later than within thirty (30) days of receipt of the transcript or the deposition, through designations by page and line, of those portions of the transcript and/or the exhibits that the Party designates as Confidential. 11. Until the thirty-day period for designation of deposition testimony as Confidential has expired, the deposition transcript shall be treated as Confidential. 12. All Protected Information produced or exchanged during the Litigation (not including information that is publicly available) shall be used by the Party or Parties to whom the information is produced solely for the purpose of the Litigation. 13. A Receiving Party may use any document produced under this Protective Order in any deposition of any Party or Party-representative and in any trial or hearing in the Litigation without limitation. Nothing in this Protective Order shall limit or restrict Counsel from providing legal and strategic advice to a client. Any Confidential document used in a deposition shall retain its protections, and any testimony revealing the substance of the document shall likewise carry the same designation as the document. 14. Any Party desiring to file Protected Information, or a document that quotes from C-4179-22-B Agreed Protective Order Page 4 of 12 Electronically Filed 5/12/2023 9:55 AM Hidalgo County District Clerks Reviewed By: Alan Garcia or substantially reveals the contents of Protected Information (collectively "Sealable Protected Information"), with the Court shall file said Sealable Protected Information under seal according to the rules of this court for the filing of documents under seal. A Party seeking to file Sealable Protected Information must also file a motion to seal, pursuant to Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 76a. A Party seeking to file Sealable Protected Information at the same time it files a motion to seal such information under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 76a must file only a redacted copy of the Sealable Protected Information for the public file. An unredacted copy of the filing must be served contemporaneously on each Party and the Court in addition to a redacted public filing. 15. When filing a motion to seal under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 76a, it shall be sufficient for the filing Party to state in a temporary motion to seal that subject matter of the filing includes Protected Information that was marked as Confidential pursuant to the terms of this Protective Order. However, upon the filing of a temporary motion to seal, the Producing Party bears the burden of proving that the materials are properly subject to permanent sealing prior to the hearing on the motion. In the event the Court denies a motion to permanently seal a record, then the Party that originally filed the redacted document shall file an unredacted version of the document that, in a footnote on the first page, refers back to both the redacted filing and the Court's order denying sealing. Any such unredacted filing shall relate back to the original date of the redacted filing and no new deadlines will be triggered by such filing. 16. The existence of this Protective Order, the filing of the documents under seal, or the designation of the documents as Confidential shall not serve as a concession or evidence that any particular document or information is or is not Protected Information, privileged, qualified for protection under applicable law, or admissible at a hearing or trial. 17. Nothing in this Protective Order precludes a party from seeking relief from the Court with regards to the production of documents or information. Further, nothing in this C-4179-22-B Agreed Protective Order Page 5 of 12 Electronically Filed 5/12/2023 9:55 AM Hidalgo County District Clerks Reviewed By: Alan Garcia Protective Order shall be construed as an agreement or acknowledgement by any non-producing party that any document, testimony, or other information designated as Confidential constitutes a trade secret or is in fact confidential. 18. Once approved and signed by the Parties' counsel, the Parties are to be bound by the provisions of this Protective Order as a valid agreement under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 11, until such time as the Protective Order is signed and entered by the Court. Once signed and entered, the Parties shall be bound by the provisions of this Protective Order as an order of this Court, which may be modified or amended only by a subsequent Court order. In the event that a Party discovers it inadvertently has produced Protected Information that has not been designated as such in advance of production or disclosure or otherwise determines previously produced or disclosed documents or information should be treated as Protected Information, the Party may designate the documents or information as Protected Information by subsequent notice to all Parties in writing. No person or Party shall incur any liability or sanction with respect to any disclosure or dissemination of such documents or information occurring prior to receipt of written notice of a belated designation. 19. In the event that a Party discovers it inadvertently received Protected Information that has not been designated as such in advance of production or disclosure, or if such Party otherwise determines previously produced or disclosed documents or information should be treated as Protected Information, nothing herein shall limit the Party's obligation to timely inform the Producing Party. 20. If any Party objects to the designation of any document as Confidential, the Party shall state the objection by letter to counsel for the Party making the designation and shall identify by bates number each document and/or page to which the Party objects. If the Parties are then unable to resolve the objection, the Party seeking to maintain the designation shall have C-4179-22-B Agreed Protective Order Page 6 of 12 Electronically Filed 5/12/2023 9:55 AM Hidalgo County District Clerks Reviewed By: Alan Garcia fourteen (14) days from receipt of such written notice within which to move the Court for a judicial determination of whether the materials were properly designated as Confidential. Until the Court rules on any such motion, the document(s) shall continue to be deemed Confidential under the terms of this Protective Order. If the Party does not move the Court for a judicial determination within fourteen (14) days from receipt of such written notice, the document(s) shall no longer be designated as Confidential. 21. Notwithstanding any challenge to the designation of material as Confidential, all documents shall be treated as such and shall be subject to the provisions hereof unless and until one of the following occurs: a. The Party or non-party who claims that the material is withdraws such designation in writing; or b. The Court rules the material is not Confidential. 22. This Protective Order shall not apply to any document or information that is available publicly, is a matter of public record on file with any court or governmental or regulatory agency or board, or is or becomes available by any lawful and unrestricted means. The burden of proving that the document or information was obtained from outside the discovery process in this litigation shall be upon the Party receiving the information from the alleged outside source. 23. Any witness or other person, firm, or entity from which discovery is sought shall be considered a Producing Party entitled to protection under the terms of the Protective Order. 24. If, at any time, any Receiving Party receives a subpoena or other compulsory process commanding production of Protected Information, the Party to whom the subpoena or request is directed shall, except where prohibited by law, reasonably provide prompt written notice to the Producing Party within three (3) business days of receipt of such subpoena. It is the intent C-4179-22-B Agreed Protective Order Page 7 of 12 Electronically Filed 5/12/2023 9:55 AM Hidalgo County District Clerks Reviewed By: Alan Garcia of this paragraph to allow at least ten (10) days, where possible, for the Producing Party to take protective action regarding the subpoenaed documents before the Protected Information is produced. The Party to whom the subpoena or request is directed shall not take any position concerning the propriety of such subpoena or request or the discoverability of the information sought thereby. It shall be the obligation of the Producing Party, if it chooses, to file a motion for protection or otherwise oppose or respond to such a subpoena or request. Other than the obligation to comply with the requirements stated herein, this Protective Order does not affect a Party's obligation to respond to such a subpoena or request. Any retained expert who has agreed to be bound by this Protective Order and has signed the Certificate of Acknowledgement attached to this Protective Order as Exhibit A, when testifying in another, unrelated case, shall advise the Court for the case in which he or she is testifying of the existence of this Protective Order before responding to any questions regarding Confidential Information and, only if ordered by such Court to respond, may respond to questions regarding Confidential Information without being in violation of this Order. 25. This Court retains and shall have continuing jurisdiction over the Parties and recipients of the Protected Information for enforcement of the provisions of this Protective Order following the termination of this litigation. 26. After dismissal of this lawsuit or entry of final judgment not subject to further appeal in this litigation, all discovery materials produced must be either destroyed or if maintained on an electronic server the contents of such documents must remain confidential consistent with this Order. Any Party to this Order has the right to request an affidavit by the Party receiving Confidential Information that the discovery materials produced have been destroyed or continue to be maintained as confidential consistent with this Order. Failure to provide the affidavit shall be deemed as a violation of the Court's order by the Receiving Party, if after receiving notice from the Producing C-4179-22-B Agreed Protective Order Page 8 of 12 Electronically Filed 5/12/2023 9:55 AM Hidalgo County District Clerks Reviewed By: Alan Garcia Party and fourteen (14) days to cure, the Receiving Party still does not provide the affidavit. The attorneys signing this Protective Order have the authority to bind their respective clients to this Protective Order and do so by their signatures. IT IS SO ORDERED. 12 Signed this ___ MAY, 2023 day of ___________ XXX ______, 2022 _______________________________ PRESIDING JUDGE AGREED: /s/ Roel Gutierrez (signed with permission) ROEL GUTIERREZ State Bar. No. 24069842 Law Office of Roel Gutierrez, PLLC. 4415 N. McColl Rd McAllen, Texas 78504 Phone (956) 278-3529 Fax (956) 278-3530 Email: roelgutierrezlaw@gmail.com AND JORGE SALINAS State Bar. No. 24090368 Law Office of Jorge Salinas, PLLC. 4415 N. McColl Rd McAllen, Texas 78504 Phone (956) 278-3529 Fax (956) 278-3530 Email: attorney@jorgsalinaslaw.com Attorneys for Plaintiffs Dulce M. Hernandez, Thomas F. Phillips, and Myra Phillips THOMPSON, COE, COUSINS & IRONS, L.L.P. By: /s/ Craig L. Dowis Craig L. Dowis State Bar No. 24028655 C-4179-22-B Agreed Protective Order Page 9 of 12 Electronically Filed 5/12/2023 9:55 AM Hidalgo County District Clerks Reviewed By: Alan Garcia cdowis@thompsoncoe.com Robert F. Boone State Bar No. 24121917 rboone@thompsoncoe.com 700 N. Pearl Street, 25th Floor Dallas, Texas 75201 Telephone: (214) 871-8200 Facsimile: (214) 871-8209 ATTORNEY FOR DEFENDANTS RONALD L. SHIMOTSU, PLLC AND RONALD L. SHIMOTSU FOX ROTHSCHILD LLP By:/s/ Robert J. Palmer (signed with permission) Robert J. Palmer State Bar No. 24013286 Saint Ann Court 2501 N. Harwood Street, Suite 1800 Dallas, Texas 75201 Tel: (972) 991-0889 Fax: (972) 404-0516 Email: rpalmer@foxrothschild.com WALSH MCGURK CORDOVA NIXON, PLLC Michael A. McGurk State Bar No. 00797746 E-mail: mmcgurk@wmcnlaw.com 1506 S. Lone Star Way, Suite 10 Edinburgh, Texas 78539 Telephone: (956) 632-5030 Telecopier: (956) 630-5050 ATTORNEYS FOR DEFENDANTS THE ATTIC CORPORATION AND DARRELL W. JOHNSON C-4179-22-B Agreed Protective Order Page 10 of 12 Automated Certificate of eService This automated certificate of service was created by the efiling system. The filer served this document via email generated by the efiling system on the date and to the persons listed below. The rules governing certificates of service have not changed. Filers must still provide a certificate of service that complies with all applicable rules. Dana Ward on behalf of Craig Dowis Bar No. 24028655 dward@thompsoncoe.com Envelope ID: 75583648 Filing Code Description: Proposed Order Filing Description: AGREED CONFIDENTIALITY AND PROTECTIVE ORDER Status as of 5/12/2023 11:30 AM CST Associated Case Party: RONALD L. SHIMOTSU PLLC Name BarNumber Email TimestampSubmitted Status Craig Dowis cdowis@thompsoncoe.com 5/12/2023 11:26:56 AM SENT Dana Ward dward@thompsoncoe.com 5/12/2023 11:26:56 AM SENT Vivian Demianiw vdemianiw@thompsoncoe.com 5/12/2023 11:26:56 AM SENT Robert Boone rboone@thompsoncoe.com 5/12/2023 11:26:56 AM SENT Thompson Coe File Clerk ezfile@thompsoncoe.com 5/12/2023 11:26:56 AM SENT Associated Case Party: THE ATTIC CORPORATION Name BarNumber Email TimestampSubmitted Status Robert J.Palmer rpalmer@foxrothschild.com 5/12/2023 11:26:56 AM SENT Jamie-Lee Denton JDenton@foxrothschild.com 5/12/2023 11:26:56 AM SENT Case Contacts Name BarNumber Email TimestampSubmitted Status Jorge Salinas 24090368 attorney@jorgesalinaslaw.com 5/12/2023 11:26:56 AM SENT Michael Albert McGurk 797746 mmcgurk@wmcnlaw.com 5/12/2023 11:26:56 AM SENT ROEL GUTIERREZ roelgutierrezlaw@gmail.com 5/12/2023 11:26:56 AM SENT ROBERT JPALMER RPALMER@FOXROTHSCHILD.COM 5/12/2023 11:26:56 AM SENT Felicia Robinson frobinson@foxrothschild.com 5/12/2023 11:26:56 AM SENT